But it was really hard, when my teenage son kept saying "That's not a zoo animal". Mind you, I did think the kitty cats were pushing it a bit much but he vetoed the penguin, sheep (okay so we have more sheep in this country than people but it might be in a zoo in another country!), bear (cos it looked more like a teddy bear and they aren't zoo animals!), and on it went. That left me two images to choose from - monkey or elephant!

I have used an image from Bugaboo called Elephant Topper. The background paper is from a paper pad by Craft Spot. The sentiment is from Mudmaven Designs and I have edged the sentiment with PeelOff Stickers and added some red rhinestones. The snowflake has bee die-cut using a Spellbinders Die and white cardstock.

Orange is one of my two favourite colours (the other is yellow) but I don't seem to craft with it very often. This time, I decided it was time to do an orange themed card.

I followed the sketch at Seems a Little Sketchy for this card with some variations to sizes of elements. The orange papers all come from a scrapbooking paper pack by CraftyBitz. The image used is from Cuddlebug Cuties and is called Stella. THe sentiment is from Desert Diva. I have also blinged the card up a bit with the addition of some rhinestones.

I have used a background paper from Cardmaking & Papercraft. The image is from Whoopsi Daisy and has been coloured with copic markers. The matting has been done with some pink glitter cardstock that I bought in A4 sheets - not sure of the source as I have had it for a while.

Before I forget, my old on this card is the ribbon (don't even want to think about how long I've had it!) and the oval die-cut (one of the first die-cuts I owned but not really that old!). My new is the button die and of course the image. I have used some paper from a Glitz paper pad. There are three different papers used - the background paper and then the two layered on the cardstock - the buttons are die-cut from the left one of these. The sentiment that I have used comes from Trimgym.

I have used some papers from a matstack that I bought about a week ago when I went to visit my brother who lives near a great craft shop! This one is a matstack from DCWV called Lemon Flower. The sentiment is an acrylic stamp and the organza ribbon is some I've had for a while. It matches this paper really well so I expect it to be used a little more than it has been! The colouring has been done with copics.

Friday, 28 December 2012

It is quite weird making a winter birthday card in the middle of summer. I had a bit of trouble avoiding the flowery papers! The image ended up with a pink flower - couldn't help myself when I am surrounded by flowers at present.

The card uses two different backing papers from Bearly Mine Designs that come from July 2012. The image that I have chosen to use comes from Beary Wishes. The sentiment is from Desert Diva. I have matted both the image and the sentiment on to some shiny silver cardstock. The snowflake has been die-cut using a Spellbinders die and has been embellished with a pretty pearl.

The challenge at Sassy Studio Designs this fortnight is an Anything Goes. I found this harder than having a theme to work to! I decided that since it was a christmassy image, it was best to work with a Christmas theme:

The camera flash has reflected a bit off the top of one of her boots. Not sure why it has done that as it has made the top of her leg very sparkly looking!

The card uses some backing paper from a paper pad called Berry Merry Christmas. I have kept the design fairly simple as one of the problems I had when I went to post my Christmas Cards was that some of them were too embellished and therefore cost quite a bit extra to send.

The image is from Sassy Studio Designs and is called Mrs Clause. I have used a Spellbinders rectangle die-cut and then edged it with Peel-Off Stickers. The image has been coloured with copic markers with some added kindy glitz and glitter.

The card uses some background paper from a paper pack by DCWV. I have mostly covered this in some purple lace. I have matted using lavender cardstock and attached some purple glitter tape from American Crafts. The image as I said above is from Ikes World and I have coloured this with copic markers. The sentiment came with the image.

The colouring of the cat was inspired by a visit to my younger brother. He has just bought two Ragdoll kittens and they are absolutely adorable. They were my inspiration for the colour scheme of this cat!

Now back to the card:
I have used some background paper from a Glitz paper pad. This was left over from a class I did at a craft expo back in July. It just had the right amount of elegance for this image. The image is the free December image from Designed to Delight which I have coloured with my copic markers. The die-cut used is a Spellbinders Labels.

Embellishments for this card include some flower parts (coloured with copics), some silver ribbon roses (again coloured with copics!) and some pearls.

For my card, I have used some background paper from Bearly Mine Designs plus a scrap of blue paper (not sure where that one is from). The image is from LEJ Designs and is called Unhappy Angel. The sentiment is from GTC Crafty Corner. I have used some blue glitter tape from American Crafts to add a bit of shimmer and also some snowflakes cut from a Spellbinders Die and then embellished with pearls.

This time my inspiration came from the colours, the stripes, the christmas tree and the general feeling of Victoriana elegance. I hope that I pulled that bit off with the card shape!

The image has been printed directly on to the card and then card using a Spellbinders Die. This is one of my Christmas goodies that I bought for myself from some money I had saved. The sentiment has been cut from a smaller die from the same set but has a slightly different edging to it. Both the image and the sentiment are from The Alley Way Stamps. I have used these ones a fair bit as they are so versatile and so appealing to me. They look so different each time I use them too as I choose a different colour scheme and card design. The images have been coloured using three different copic markers - two from RV and one from R (can't remember what numbers I used sorry).

Thursday, 27 December 2012

I'm hoping that this has enough layers going on - the bling is certainly there!

I have used a background paper from a paper pack by DCWV and blinged it up with some clear rhinestones. The digi is from Nutcrafters and is called Bonfire Digi. It made me think of the fireworks at New Year! The image is layered onto some gold cardstock - also from DCWV. The sentiment is from Desert Diva and has been layered onto the same gold cardstock and then raised up above the layered digi.

Just before Christmas I spent a few days with my younger brother. While I was there, I visited a craft shop near his house and purchased a few Spellbinders Dies, some Distress Inks and Stains and a few paper packs. Over the next few weeks I'm sure I'll be using most of these in my cards! For this card, I am using one of the Spellbinders Dies. This is rather a large die, so I used it to make the card blank:

I then inked the edges with Distress Ink - Old Paper. When I looked at what I had at that stage, I didn't want to add to much more colour to the card, so have outlined the animals using E43 and C1. I just love the delicate edging that this die has given this card and I'm sure that I will use it in this way again.

While I am still in the christmas mood, I decided to create another christmas card:

I have used a backing paper from a Rosies Studio paper pack. The image is from Milk Coffee and the sentiment from Netty's Cards. I have edged both the sentiment and image die-cuts with Barn Door Distress Ink. The image is coloured with copic markers pulling out some of the colours from the background paper.

This time it is a colour challenge and this is what I have come up with using the three colours:

I have used some backing paper from a recent paper pack purchase from MME. The papers are double sided so it is often difficult to decide which side to use! This one worked perfectly with the theme - at least it did when I coloured all the yellow dots with red copic! The sentiment is from Neat and Tangled and has been matted onto some red cardstock.

I combined these two challenges using a Santa image from Doodle Dragon Studios:

The background paper is from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. It is left over from another card that I had made and I didn't want to waste it! The image is a recent freebie from Doodle Dragon Studios, coloured with copic markers and highlighted with Glossy Accents and Kindy Glitz. The stripes across the card are a deep burgundy coloured Glitter Tape from American Crafts. The sentiment is a digital image that has been cut and embossed using a Spellbinders rectangle die. I added a glittery snowflake at the top of the image to balance everything out.

I have used a white card blank and stippled it with three Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Barn Door. I then overstamped with an acrylic Merry Christmas stamp using the same three inks. I printed the mosaic rose several times and coloured it with copics in layers and then using mounting tape, I layered up the various layers to give a 3 dimensional look. I then coloured three clear rhinestones with matching copic marker colours. The lace that I have used is from my stash.

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

It was quite a challenge this combination but I think I succeeded in the end!

I have used a white card blank and added some silver pearlescent cardstock. I have used two strips of silver glitter tape to add some shimmer to this layer. The image is from Kenny K and has been coloured using Cool Grey copic markers (closest to silver I could get!) and then die-cut using my favourite die from Mariannes. I also rubber stamped a greeting in Brilliance Black and then embossed with silver embossing powder. The rubber stamp is from a New Zealand company called Rubbadubbadoo. I haven't used my rubber stamps for a while as it is so time consuming, finding them first and then cleaning them afterwards but this stamp was perfect for this card. I also added five silver ribbon roses.

I had recently bought this die from Memory Box and not yet used it. I felt it was perfect for these challenges so a nice CAS card this time:

I have used some textured white cardstock that unbelievably I found at the Dollar Store! The green is from a scrap paper pack that I have had for a couple of years and only just started using. It has a few different green papers in all sorts of sizes (offcuts I think). Underneath this is a strip of gold cardstock. I have also embellished the card using some gold glitter tape from American Crafts.

I have used some background paper from Bearly Mine Designs. As soon as I saw the Wish upon a Star on it, I knew I had to use it for this card! The image used is one from Cre8tive Hands and is called Nativity. The sentiment is from Mudmaven Designs and I have used a star shaped die from Nellie's Multi-Frames. The remainder of the set is scallop edged squares but the smallest square has this shape in the centre! I then added a few star shaped rhinestones to the corners of the image.

I have used some background paper from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. The borders have been cut from pink cardstock using a Martha Steward Eyelet Lace Border Punch. I added some glitter tape from American Crafts across the centre of the card and created a bow from a velvet shoelace. The image is from Bugaboo and is Stella Psycho Shopper. I also added a strip of rhinestones and pearls to give the card a bit of bling. A little bit different for a christmas card with the bright colours and shopping paper but sometimes you need to have a different card!

I have used a paper from my stash. The tag has been die-cut using a Sissix Tag Die. The image is the current freebie from A Day for Daisies. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches. The die-cut used on the image is a Lattice Rectangle from Spellbinders. I have embellished the card with some grosgrain ribbon and a pearl.

The paper that I have used for this card comes from Bearly Mine Designs. The image is Sugar Plum Fairy from Pixie Dust Studios. I have added a snowflake, buttons and grosgrain ribbon as embellishments.

I have used some green cardstock as the base die-cut with a Spellbinders Labels Die. I have used the next smallest size to cut the image and inside pages. The image is a freebie from Just Some Lines.

I have hole punched each page and then tied the book together with ribbon in case changes need to be made to the pages (change of address, etc). The ribbon is from the Christmas crackers this year - a bit of recycling!

It is kinda weird uploading a Christmas card on Boxing Day but at least that is one underway for next year!

I have used background papers from Bearly Mine Designs. The image is from Sassy Studio Designs. I have used some dark blue glitter cardstock from DCWV (it has come out greyish on the photo). The ribbon is from American Crafts.

Monday, 24 December 2012

For this challenge, I went with the snowflakes, a bit of the colour and the easel design:

The image is one from Tiddly Inks and is called Star Ornament. I have die-cut the image using a Spellbinders snowflakes die set. The image has been coloured with pastel coloured copic markers then adorned with both Glossy Accents (stars) and crystallina kindy glitz (snow). I have used an easel card design. The embellishments are pearls and snowflakes. The sentiment is a digital image - not sure who the designer is. I think I need to improve my printing out of images that I include the source then! If anyone recognises this one, can they leave a comment please so I can give credit to the designer.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

The image is from May Brit and has been coloured with copics, highlighted with crystallina Kindy Glitz and then die-cut using Spellbinders Labels die. The background paper is from Beary Merry Christmas paper pack. Lots of holly there as well as the bit on the image!

I added some gold glitter tape from American Crafts and also a constructed flower using a flower part and a rhinestone.

After internet hassles meant I missed a couple of the Whoopsi Daisy challenges, I am really pleased to have finished this one! I'm not sure whether this Whoopsi Daisy image is meant to be a christmas one but it reminded me of a little girl heading to the christmas tree on Christmas morning with her teddy bear to see if Santa had left any presents.

I have used a background paper that was already pre-printed with the sentiment. The die-cuts are Spellbinders ovals. The matting has been done with glitter cardstock from DCWV. The flower is an assembly of flower parts from a kit and a pearl or the centre. Normally I add rhinestones to the centre but the pearl matched the matting so well I just had to use it!

The image that I have used is one from Scrap Happy Paper Crafter coloured with copic markers and die-cut using a Nellies Multi Frames die. The paper is from a paper pack by rosies Studio. I also stippled the right hand side of the card with Barn Door Distress Ink and overstamped this with an acrylic stamp sentiment. The ribbon used is from American Crafts.

I decided for the Papertake Challenge that I would pick a sketch prior to when I started doing the challenges. The one I have chosen is Sketch 65 from February 28th. I shifted the sentiment but otherwise have followed the sketch. The sentiment wouldn't quite work for me where it was in the sketch - looking at the DT inspirations for that sketch, one of them has done the same!

The lines of BINGO for the Catch the Bug are:
Starts with S - sunbonnet
Ribbon - Happy Holidays from American Crafts
Sentiment -

The background paper is from Bearly Mine Designs. The image is from Platypus Creek Digitals. The sentiment is an acrylic stamp which I have inked with copic marker and then die-cut using a Spellbinders banners die. The tag has been hand cut and coloured with copic marker. I added a pearl to the top where the hole would be.

I have used a white card blank and stippled it with Antique Linen Distress Ink to give it more of a cream feel. The paper is from a paper pack called Beary Merry Christmas. I have added some satin ribbon from American crafts. The image is from Meljens Designs Studio and is called Witchy Cat. I have also added a flower and a rhinestone to the card. The sentiment is an acrylic stamp which has been inked with Distress Ink - peeled paint.

I have used a box template that I found on the internet some time back. Unfortunately, the designer didn't put his/her details on the template! The design is somewhat similar to a matchbox.

I have added some Christmas ribbon around the box. The image that I have used is a Christmas freebie from Milk Coffee. I have also added some rhinestones for a bit of bling. I'm hoping that the christmas lights on the tree will reflect off the rhinestones at night!

I just love this die from Marianne's Design. I love the lacy elegant look to it and it worked well with the added lace here. The background paper is from a paper pack of winter Christmas papers. The image is from Paper Cupcakes and was a freebie for the previous challenge that I never quite got to doing. I have also added a coloured flower and some pearl embellishments to the card.

I was inspired by the colours in the picture. However, when I saw this image I just had to use it! I love the quirkiness of it.

The image and sentiment are both from The Alley Way Stamps. I have coloured using copic markers and die-cut using 2 different sizes of Beaded Ovals from Spellbinders. I have a habit of using the larger one only but this time have used a smaller size as well. The background paper is from a paper pack called Merry Berry Christmas. I added some pink rhinestones to the beaded oval as it looked too unadorned without them. Adds a bit of bling to the card.

I have based the card on a sketch by Wilma Sharp. The double sided paper is from a paper pack from MME called Moments. The image used is from A Day for Daisies. I have also added some brads and rhinestones.

Monday, 17 December 2012

I have used quite bold colours in this card with papers from Rosie's Studio. Very traditional with candy canes and gingerbread men! The image is from Sassy Studio Designs and is called Christmas Present 3. I have also added some constructed flowers and some red and green rhinestones from Kaisercraft.

The inspiration for this card originally came from a CRAFT Challenge a couple of weeks ago. I got as far as the idea and the colouring and then I had issues with a slow internet connection and got behind with everything. As a result, this card got put to one side unfinished with the idea that I would get it completed for the monthly Trimgym challenge. When I saw that this week's challenge at CRAFT Challenge was winter, I pulled it out again - what is more winter than a snowman!

The card uses two different christmas papers by Trimgym. The image is also from Trimgym and is called Snow Woman. I have also used some Kraft card for the matting, some rhinestones and some christmas ribbon from American Crafts.

I have used a textured white card blank. The red and white background paper from reminded me of a candy cane so I just knew I had to use it with this lovely image from Shelly's Images. After I coloured the image with my copic marker I added some Matte Accents to give it more of the shiny look that candy canes have. I have edged the papers and the die-cut image with Peelcraft stickers. I had them out for another card and decided to use them on this one too! The sentiment is an acrylic stamp (brand unknown). I have added some satin ribbon from American Crafts and also some wooden buttons. The buttons were a pinky colour so I coloured them with a copic marker to ensure that they matched the card.

The papers that I have used come from a paper pack by Glitz. I usually layer the top background paper onto cardstock and then onto the bottom background paper. This week I decided that I would use peelcraft stickers for the red border on the sketch. I have used some gold glitter tape from American Crafts. I found a packet of silver glittery ribbon roses that I thought would look nice on cards as embellishments. However, the silver clashed with the colours on the card so I got out my copic markers and coloured it. It now matches the flowers in the background paper. I have used copic markers C1 and R02 for the colouring. The image is from Designed 2 Delight and is called Balloon Bouquet.

After a couple of weeks of slow internet speeds meaning that I had insufficient time to make many cards, I have managed to start getting back on top of everything. Time for a non-traditional christmas card:

I often have trouble with the translation of the Peppercus Designs Challenges. My son is learning German at school and is meant to be helping me when I get stuck! I'm hoping that my pearls are the correct interpretation of "beads".

I have used pinks and browns for this card. I have also used a non-traditional paper from Bearly Mine Designs but felt it worked well anyway. The glitter tape is from American Crafts and is self-adhesive. The ends don't fray so is much better than ribbon when you don't want to go to the edge of the card! The image that I have chosen to use is a recent freebie from Peppercus Designs.

Sunday, 16 December 2012

After missing the deadline for the last challenge at Sparkle and Glitter (mainly due to a slow internet connection making me take longer to do anything on the internet!!) I have tried to complete this one earlier. Mind you, last time I only got as far as colouring the image when I realised the deadline was too close to get it finished! Here is the card for this challenge:

I have used an embossing folder and some pearlised white cardstock to create the background. The image is from Rick St Dennis and is called 3 chimney cottage. I thought it would make a nice snowy scene. I have used some glitter fibres to add snow to the roof, tops of chimneys and also a sprinkling on the tops of the trees and bushes.

With internet issues I've missed the last one or two challenges at Pikes Playground so really wanted to do this one:

The background paper is from a Merry Berry paper pack. The image is a recent freebie from Dustin Pike. I have added some bling to the background paper - partly to tone down the cream a bit but mainly for extra interest. I have also added a ribbon from American Crafts.